Mentioning the centennial of Frank Sinatra’s birth recently reminded Al Guthertz of his encounter with the singer. Sinatra was a teen idol; Guthertz was a teen, working in his uncle’s Medical Arts Pharmacy in the Medical Arts Building at Jackson and Van Ness.

Sinatra was in San Francisco to appear at the Golden Gate Theatre, recalls Guthertz. “We received advance word he had a toothache and was going to see the dentist in the building.

“When he arrived, I stopped him and asked if he would have a picture taken with me when he was finished. Sinatra said, ‘Sure, kid.’ But by the time he was finished, word had leaked out and thousands of teenagers (bobby-soxers, in those days) were all over Van Ness Avenue yelling ‘Frankie’ ...

“Sinatra left the building, saw me, remembered his promise to me, came over, put his arm around me and the picture was taken.”

Guthertz says when he reads modern accounts of Sinatra being mean to photographers, he remembers how nice he was to him. As to the photo, “My mom took the picture with one of those old Brownie cameras, and it never came out.”

In modern days, of course, it would have come out. And those words are just the perfect segue to last week’s hot celebrity story, the ripping of Lenny Kravitz’s pants during a concert in Sweden. This mishap gave not only the concert audience but also online Peeping Toms all over the world a spectacle to remember.

“I guess it’s confirmed,” Celeste Perry e-mailed. “He’s Jewish.” She thought his pants split so easily because they were pleather. No self-respecting source of cowhide would have let him down that way.

Meanwhile, reader Randy Alfred was commenting on a planned nude demonstration at City Hall last week that he called the Outside Glands Festival. The term better applies, however, to Kravitz’s Swedish gig.

About a week before last week’s Republican candidate debate, those good-time Charlies at San Francisco Animal Care & Control put Trump wigs on adoptable animals pictured on its Facebook page. The image at the top is a cat with the words “Who Trumps it best?,” but this isn’t just dogs and cats. Guinea pigs, rabbits and chickens have been trumped up, too.

The hair, a kind of golden muffin of locks, was originally a wig on the head of “a German doll that one of our volunteers had owned ...” said Campbell. “It’s gone to good use now.” Adopted animals — like Scout, a black Chihuahua — must abandon the wig when they go to their new homes.

As to whether this hairy accessory indicates a political bias, Animal Care’s Deb Campbell says they’re not saying whether the animals support Trump or not. “It could go either way.” But, she says, “no animals were harmed” to make the portraits, and those who were drafted to pose looked as though they “enjoyed the experience.” The device proved effective. The animals adopted since the wigs were placed on their heads are said to be a “Trump bump.”

Radey cites his wife’s description of an Alabama sheriff coming to the march with her horse, so that marching kids could meet it. Most Alabama state troopers they’ve encountered have been African American. “The march’s plan is to walk every step of the way, but sometimes they have been asked to not tie up traffic in small towns, so they have a ‘spring team,’ a small group who walks through such points while the others ride the bus. No friction or opposition, smooth sailing.”

It took some time to get singing started, but at last, following the example of one older woman, the marchers began lifting their voices. Piper was asked whether she knew the words to “Oh, Freedom.” Her philosophy: “When you’re making up verses and you are stuck and can’t think of one, go back and repeat the first verse until you can think one up.” This advice is useful for just about everything.